Mother's Flag

[Kev]

Not sure how many of you have ever heard of a “Mother’s Flag” or a “Service Flag”?  I hadn’t heard of them, at least not that I recall.  They’re a little difficult to find information on but, I think Wikepedia is fairly accurate.

From Wikepedia:

A service flag or service banner is a banner that family members of those serving in the United States Armed Forces can display. The flag or banner is officially defined as a white field with a red border, with a blue star for each family member serving in the Armed Forces of the United States during any period of war or hostilities. A gold star (with a blue edge) represents a family member who died during military operations, including those who died during World War I, World War II, or any subsequent period of armed hostilities in which the United States was engaged before July 1, 1958, and those who lost or lose their lives after June 30, 1958:

1.    while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States;

2.    while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or

3.    while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict in which the United States is not a belligerent party against an opposing armed force;

or those who lost or lose their lives after March 28, 1973, as a result of:

1.    an international terrorist attack against the United States or a foreign nation friendly to the United States, recognized as such an attack by the Secretary of Defense; or

2.    military operations while serving outside the United States (including the commonwealths, territories, and possessions of the United States) as part of a peacekeeping force.

There’s a lot more on the Wikepedia page that makes for a good read but, just wanted to put the basic in here for some background on the current project.

The flag below was rescued from a legion hall that was being demolished in Kootenai county Idaho where my mom lives.  The flag was donated to a local museum In Rathdrum ID where my mom has some ties.  The flag had no frame, was completely unprotected, and just folded up in a box.  From what I understand, this flag comes from WWII.

Through my mom, the museum reached out to me to build an appropriate frame for it and get it under glass to protect it and display it in the museum.

There wasn’t a lot of direction given for the flag and the museum doesn’t have much of a budget.  I decided to use up some African Mahogany in the shop and I’ll add a thin border of another species based on what I have on hand.  I will most likely donate my time and material for this worthy project.

After milling, I then cut a cove in the African Mahogany at the table saw.  Not sure why but, this operation always makes me a little nervous.

After a lot of sanding, I then water popped the African Mahogany in preparation for the Potassium Dichromate.  I’ll pre-finish the African Mahogany leaving out the final coat of hard wax oil.  I’ll apply that after I add the thin strips of another species.

Next up was the Potassium Dichromate.

I followed this with a coat of dewaxed amber shellac and then This is followed by a burnt umber glaze that is wiped back fairly quickly

And finally, a couple coats of dewaxed amber shellac.

This will "dull" quite a bit when I sand everything back in prep for the final finish..

I attempted to keep as much of this finish process off of the edges since that’s where I’ll be applying the decorative trim.

I'll apply the outer strips next and cut the miters.  Normally, I would cut the rabbets now but I need to source the glass first to ensure that I cut them deep enough to hold the glass, flag, and the ¼” BB ply back panel.

That's enough for one day though!

[pkinneb]

That's definitely an interesting project, I had never heard of that kind of flag.

RE the coping on the TS I agree its always a little nerve racking for me. FWIW one thing I do is I support both sides making sure I can push the piece through with no slop before I start raising the blade. 

[Kev]

20 minutes ago, pkinneb said:

That's definitely an interesting project, I had never heard of that kind of flag.

RE the coping on the TS I agree its always a little nerve racking for me. FWIW one thing I do is I support both sides making sure I can push the piece through with no slop before I start raising the blade. 

I usually do as well but, I just tool a smaller bite and went a little slower.

 

[Chet]

My mom told stories of walking down the streets during World War II and seeing banners like the one below displayed in front room windows.  As you mentioned, there would be a star for each family member serving.  After hearing her talk about them I stared seeing them in documentaries about the war.

 

[Kev]

Definitely a rougher day in the shop today but, I've been there before!

I was prepping to put on the decorative strips when I realized that my long pieces was about 2" too short.  I don't have a board stretcher so, this just meant that I had to start over.  I've got the new parts made and the glaze is curing but, not nearly where I wanted to be now.

Nothing to really show in pictures as it's the same as the original post..  Hopefully more pictures tomorrow when I've actually moved forward a little..

[Coop]

At least you only had to re-cut two boards. We’ve all been there. 

[Kev]

14 minutes ago, Coop said:

At least you only had to re-cut two boards. We’ve all been there. 

I recut all 4 just for color consistency..  I probably could have gotten away with just 2 because of the finish but, go big or go home I guess..

[Kev]

My wife is out of town this weekend so a little more than normal on my plate..  I'm in the process of gluing the 1/4" Cherry strips on.  Everything will get sanded tomorrow in prep for the rabbet.  

I won't cut the rabbets until after I source the glass to ensure proper depth.

[Coop]

Kev, what are the dimensions of the flag? 

[Kev]

Just now, Coop said:

Kev, what are the dimensions of the flag? 

I'm taking the inside dimensions to 63" x 35".  This won't leave much room around the flag.

 

[Coop]

The size I fly here at home. Putting the horse before the cart, how will you join the corners? With the coves, might be tricky. 

[Kev]

11 minutes ago, Coop said:

The size I fly here at home. Putting the horse before the cart, how will you join the corners? With the coves, might be tricky. 

I have a few thoughts and ideas but, need to get the rabbets cut first.  I have a few options.

• Domino - I left the stock a little thick so this option would be open
• Dowels - If I don't have room for Dominos, I will have room for dowels.
• Splines - This is an option but, my 8' ceilings will make them difficult at the table saw.  Also a little unwieldy at the router table..
• Dutchmen - I could cut a dutchman in the back at each corner.

In the end, there's lots of options and I'll figure out which one works best when I get there.  I'm shooting video for a simple frame so, who knows..  I might take the difficult path..  🤣

 

 

[Coop]

May mean a trip to Hobby Lobby to see how the pros tackled it. Gonna be interesting. 

[Kev]

9 minutes ago, Coop said:

May mean a trip to Hobby Lobby to see how the pros tackled it. Gonna be interesting. 

My wife has some stuff for that..  Once I get it sandwiched in, it won't move anyway.

[Kev]

Not too much accomplished on this today..  I did manage to get them sanded back..  Was a lot of hand sanding..

[Kev]

Looks like I have a couple options for glass so, I got the rabbets cut in this morning and all of the angles..  Things were flowing pretty good and I forgot to stop and grab pictures of this..  I used the picture frame sled which worked great as usual.  Only problem I had was that these pieces are so long so, I had to sneak up on final trims.  One of those times that I would really like to have a frame trimmer!

Then it was time for a first loose dry fit just to make sure my measurements were good.  Really gives a sense as to how big this thing really is!

Next up, I decided on 2 dowels per corner to reinforce the joint.  The Jessem dowel jig worked great!  I really like the depth adjustment which allowed me to keep these in the lower portion of the frame and out of the cove.  Because the pieces were thin, I did have a bit of a hard time seeing exactly where it was at.  I'm getting older so, had to go get my glasses to see.. 🤣.  My line up mark is in the very tip of the center indent.  1/4" dowels.

Of course I did another dry fit and figured out my clamping strategy but, here it is all glued up.  I used epoxy for more open time and better holding power on the end grain.  Good thing I have those long bar clamps hanging around!  I don't use them often but, they sure come in handy when I need them.

For the most part, the seams look really good.  I'll have a few minor gaps that I'll have to deal with but, I think that's inevitable on something this large.  I'll take some pictures tomorrow when I take it out of clamps.  This is where it is going to sit for a full 24 hours.

[Kev]

Just wanted to add a note here on the glass..  Just like everything else, glass has really gotten expensive so, that's not a huge surprise.

The surprise comes in that glass companies (at least here) have to special order anything over 60" long.  I need a piece that's 62" long.

Acrylic, which I considered thinking it might be a little cheaper for the museum, was at $1562.00 for 1/8" thick with UV protection.

I'm still waiting for a couple call backs but, straight up tempered glass for this client will be around $325.00..

[Coop]

Inside, in a museum, would it need UV protection? 

[Kev]

10 minutes ago, Coop said:

Inside, in a museum, would it need UV protection? 

Would depend on the location inside the museum I suppose.  I'll end up going with some tempered glass and just make sure they know that the glass does not have any UV protection.  The cost is just outside their budget even with me donating the time and material.

[Coop]

That’s gonna be a neat deal! Glad the dowels worked out for ya. 

[pkinneb]

That's looking awesome but those glass rates are insane! What am I missing... UV protection adds that much to the cost?

[Kev]

1 hour ago, pkinneb said:

That's looking awesome but those glass rates are insane! What am I missing... UV protection adds that much to the cost?

So, anything over 60" becomes a custom size for starters which means they have to custom order and rates go up.  Add UV protection and that custom order becomes even more difficult to get so, rates go up further.  The bulk of glass manufacturers are only adding UV protection to house windows and not single pane glass.

There are a few places that make what's called "museum glass" but, that price was even worse than the acrylic!  

All told, I called 4 frame shops who were the absolute worse on price.  I then called 8 local glass shops.  2 of those only do automotive, 3 of those told me they couldn't get glass in the size I needed, 1 of those prices were absolutely horrible ($870.00) and 2 of them could get me tempered without UV protection.  Of those 2, one was a little cheaper at $280.00 but, the glass wouldn't be here until the 24th which is when I'm supposed to deliver this piece.  The other was a little more at $310.00 and could have it here by the 11th or 12th.

So, yea, it's just gotten super crazy!  I don't think that's limited to just my area but, that's an assumption on my part.

If anyone wants to check the options where you are, my size is 62 1/4" by 34 1/8".  Probably best to have a look at your local pricing before taking on what should be a simple picture frame..  I'll be honest, the glass was the last of my worries when I agreed to do this project and it bit me in the butt a little!

[Kev]

Not a lot on this today..  Just cleaning up seams and getting the glass ordered..  It was requested that the frame look a little older than it really is so, I spent some extra time hand sanding and distressing a little.

I know the dowels are probably strong enough but, I think tomorrow I'm going to add some dutchmen to the back at the corners just to be sure.  From there, I'll add the final finish and cut the hardboard backer to size.  I may also set this in the sun for a bit to naturally age the cherry strips a bit as well..  I have time before the glass arrives so, I suppose I should take advantage of some sunny days!

[Coop]

Would it be worth it to cut the frame back to 60”? 

[Kev]

16 minutes ago, Coop said:

Would it be worth it to cut the frame back to 60”? 

I thought about it but, it's already tight on the flag.  I left some wiggle room side to side but the flag has some stretch to it side to side.